WDH or helper springs or both

Eric_Phillips · Jun 11, 2018

I know this is about towing a camper but you guys are the best towing people I have found. I did use my tractor to move the camper around this weekend. I measured the hight of the van at the front and back wheels with the van empty, then loaded and then loaded with the camper hitched. Here are the numbers I got

Empty,
Front 30" rear 30" hitch 9 3/4"

Loaded
Front 29 1/8" rear 28 7/8" hitch 9 1/4"

Loaded with trailer
Front 29 1/2" rear 27 1/4" hitch 6 3/4"

My thought is I need a WDH to correct the 2.25" differential between the front and back. Do I also need some type of helper spring to eliminate some of the 2.5" sag or would the WDH take care of most of that?

Also when determining the amount of rise needed on the hitch do you take into consideration the sag? Withe the van loaded and the trailer level I have a 4 7/8" differential which would lead me to using a 5" rise hitch. If I have 2.5" of sag when I connect the trailer do I add that 2.5" to the 4 7/8" to come up with an 8" rise hitch? With a WDH or helper springs I know that sag will lesson and I would change the sag number accordingly. The WDH I am considering is the Andersen which comes with an adjustable height hitch.

Morning Wood · Jun 11, 2018

How heavy is the trailer and what is the tongue weight? Both of these numbers would help immensely. The WD bars can help level the tow vehicle out some, but too much pressure is not a good thing in my book. That is why I questioned trailer and tongue weight. If you end us needing both I’d go with airbags before I went with helper springs.

BLSXJ · Jun 12, 2018

Start with the WDH. its the only solution that takes weight off your rear axle and puts more force on the trailer axles and your front axle.

Eric_Phillips · Jun 12, 2018

Using the bathroom scale method I get about 450lb tongue weight. The trailer should be about 3100lb. That tongue weight is about 100-150lb more than what I was expecting. What just dawned on me is the manufacturers dry tongue weight probably does not include the battery and propane tank. I also noticed the trailer tongue and trailer frame are not parallel. With the tongue level the trailer box is actually tilting 0.25"/ft forward. Leveling the trailer box raises the tongue 3". I measured the tongue weight with the box tilting forward. I am not sure how much weight will be shifted back raising the hitch another 3". I plan on checking but haven't had time yet.

When I am talking helper springs I was thinking Timbren or Sumo springs.

timswi · Jun 12, 2018

Personally, I start with a WD hitch first. They generally do a pretty good job of squaring things up so long as you are within towing spec for the vehicle. Additionally, it helps with the bouncing issues due to heavy hitch weight. You can also add a sway control which also helps.

bigtiller · Jun 12, 2018

Eric_Phillips said:
Using the bathroom scale method I get about 450lb tongue weight. The trailer should be about 3100lb. That tongue weight is about 100-150lb more than what I was expecting. What just dawned on me is the manufacturers dry tongue weight probably does not include the battery and propane tank. I also noticed the trailer tongue and trailer frame are not parallel. With the tongue level the trailer box is actually tilting 0.25"/ft forward. Leveling the trailer box raises the tongue 3". I measured the tongue weight with the box tilting forward. I am not sure how much weight will be shifted back raising the hitch another 3". I plan on checking but haven't had time yet.

When I am talking helper springs I was thinking Timbren or Sumo springs.

That's a good idea, ball height is important. The trailer rides better if it is level when loaded.